“That was my point. Saying that von Braun is “associated with Hitler” is almost as specious as saying Richard Wagner is. “
Not really. Von Braun was an SS Lieutenant, Wagner wasn’t. We all hear the excuses, “Von Braun didn’t know about the death camp assembly lines”, “He really wasn’t a nazi and just joined to ensure his true dream of space flight could happen”.. etc.
The we are told his MAIN skill at NASA wasn’t the engineering, it was his organizational skill in that field. So we are left to believe that Von Braun, the man who knew every detail of his organization and effort, had no idea what was happening to the Jews at the production facility. He just thought these rockets showed up from some a facility and didn’t really care much about the factory itself.
Laughable disconnect. He did good work at NASA, but it’s silly to pretend his hands were clean. Also, NASA engineers of that era resent the idea that they were moronic boobs who could do nothing without him. He happened to be there, but added nothing that many other Americans were not just as capable of.
This was proven in several wartime projects and postwar projects.
“Don’t say that he’s hypocritical,
“Say rather that he’s apolitical.
“Vunce rockets are up, who cares vhere zey come down.”
“Zat’s not my department!” says Werner von Braun.
- Tom Lehrer
If von Braun hadn't gone along with the Reich, he would probably not have survived the war at all. Certainly if he had made known any misgivings he had during the time of the death camp assembly lines, he would have been executed immediately.
He was a true believer and rocket enthusiast well before the dritte Reich, and from what I can discover, his interest in going to the moon was entirely sincere, having begun when he was a boy.
It was my understanding that he was an inspirational leader to the people at NASA; his personal charisma caused the people who worked for him to struggle and go beyond their limitations in order to get his nod of approval.
His willingness to put away his own vision for the mission profile — replacing it with the staged concept of John Houbolt once he understood the wisdom of that approach — has always struck me as a true demonstration of von Braun's caliber as a person.
Anyway, I'm not really arguing with you. His service to Hitler will always stain his memory, and I guess it's true to say he had blood on his hands.